Phytopharmacological evaluation of ethanol extract of Sida cordifolia L. roots.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the phytochemical screening (group determination) and selected pharmacological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial and analgesic activity) of the plant Sida cordifolia Linn (S. cordifolia). METHODS: Eighty percent concentrated ethanol extract of the roots was used. To identify the chemical constituents of plant extract standard procedures were followed. In phytochemical screening the crude extract was tested for the presence of different chemical groups like reducing sugar, tannins, saponins, steroids, flavonoids, gums, alkaloids and glycosides. The antioxidant property of ethanolic extract of S. cordifolia was assessed by DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Analgesic activity of the extract was tested using the model of acetic acid induced writhing in mice. Diclofenac sodium is used as reference standard drug for the analgesic activity test. Antibacterial activity of plant extract was carried out using disc diffusion method with five pathogenic bacteria comparison with kanamycin as a standard. RESULTS: Phytochemical analysis of the ethanolic extract of the roots of S. cordifolia indicated the presence of reducing sugar, alkaloids, steroids and saponins. In DPPH scavenging assay the IC50 value was found to be 50 µg/mL which was not comparable to the standard ascorbic acid. The crude extract produced 44.30% inhibition of writhing at the dose of 500 mg/kg body weight which is statistically significant (P>0.001). The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract of the roots of S. cordifolia showed no antimicrobial activity against five types of microorganisms. The experiment was conducted only with five species of bacteria as test species, which do not at all indicate the total inactivity against micro-organisms. CONCLUSION: The obtained results provide a support for the use of this plant in traditional medicine but further pharmacological studies are required.

Antinociceptive, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities of Cleome viscosa leaves

The methanol extract of the dried leaves of Cleome viscosa L., Cleomaceae, was investigated for its possible antinociceptive, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities in animal models. The extract produced significant writhing inhibition in acetic acid-induced writhing in mice at the oral doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight (p<0.001) comparable to the standard drug diclofenac sodium at the dose of 25 mg/kg of body weight (p<0.001). The crude extract produced the most prominent cytotoxic activity against brine shrimp Artemia salina (LC50 28.18 μg/mL and LC90 112.20 μg/mL). The extract of C. viscosa L. exhibited significant in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Shigella sonnie, Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholera, Streptococcus epidermidis, Shigella flexneri and Staphylococcus aureus with the zones of inhibition ranging from 10.76 to 16.34 mm. The obtained results provide a support for the use of this plant in traditional medicine and its further investigation.

Determination of the binding sites of propranolol HCl on bovine serum albumin by direct and reverse procedures.

To characterize the binding site of propranolol hydrochloride, the free concentration of warfarin (site-I-specific probe) bound to BSA was measured upon the addition of propranolol hydrochloride. It was found that the free concentration of warfarin sodium was increased from 100% (as % of initial) to 552.35% when the ratio of propranolol to BSA was increased 1-6. In contrast, under the same experimental conditions, when diazepam was used as a site-II-specific probe, the increment of the free concentration of diazepam by propranolol was from 100% (as % of initial) to 415.42. From these data it is evident that the increment of free concentration of warfarin sodium is obviously greater than that of diazepam by propranolol. So it can be concluded that propranolol preferentially binds to site-I. Again as the displacement of diazepam is quite enough it can also be suggested that propranolol in addition to site-I also binds to site-II on the BSA molecule but to a lower extent. Again in the reverse experiment, the free concentration of propranolol was increased from 100% (as % of initial) to 476% when warfarin to BSA ratio was 1-6 as shown, on the other hand, the free concentration of propranolol was increased from 100% (as % initial) to 222.39% when the ratio of diazepam to BSA was also 1-6. From the data it is clear that the increment of propranolol due to displacement by warfarin (site-I probe) is higher than that of propranolol when displaced by diazepam (site-II probe). Thus this reverse experiment also agrees with the previous experiment.